Employees & Officials

Information for:

For Elected Officials: Campaign Finance

Elected City officials don’t bear just the ethics responsibilities that apply to all City officials and employees found in the “For Employees” section of IntegrityWorks. They’re also responsible for the operation of their political campaigns and for complying with campaign finance law.

The Philadelphia campaign finance law is contained in Chapter 20-1000 of the Philadelphia Code. The law applies to candidates for Mayor, City Council, District Attorney, Sheriff, City Commissioners, City Controller, Clerk of Quarter Sessions, and Register of Wills. The law:

places limits on political contributions to candidates for City elective offices;

requires public disclosure by candidates and political committees of campaign finance information; and

authorizes the City’s Ethics Board to provide guidance on and enforce the law.

The City’s Board of Ethics regularly conducts campaign finance training for candidates to City elective offices and their campaign staffs. The Board’s web site also contains the text of the campaign finance law, a “Plain English Explanation of Philadelphia Campaign Finance Law,” FAQs about campaign donation limits, and other materials.

City elected officials must know and follow these campaign finance rules, as well as the other State and City ethics rules that cover all City employees. Contact the Ethics Board with any campaign finance questions, or for ethics or campaign finance training.

“Public service” means just that – your job is to serve the public. Regardless of your job or office here – manual labor or a skilled trade, public health or public safety, clerical or professional – you work for the well-being of the City and the people who live, work and visit here. Your pay is funded by taxes and fees collected from the City’s citizens, businesses, and visitors.

The public (which includes you, too, in your nonwork hours) is entitled to have you perform your job with honesty and fairness. You give no person extra favors, and give no person any less service, because of a relationship you might have or because of someone’s political views.

You’re also the public face of City government. When you perform ethically and honestly, the public sees that City government operates ethically and honestly, and only in the public’s best interest.

To ensure this evenhandedness, State and City rules, including those described in Rules of the Road, govern your conduct. Generally, the rules cover the following situations:

Gifts, gratuities, and honoraria

Invitations

Financial conflicts of interest

Outside civic or charitable activities

Outside employment

Political activity

Financial disclosure

You must know and follow the rules. If you haven’t yet received ethics training from the independent Ethics Board, contact them at 215-686-9450 or your supervisor. You may also visit the Frequently Asked Questions section to learn more about how these rules apply to you as a City employee or official.

You can also apply the “six o’clock news” test: would you want the news media to report your actions or inaction? If the answer is no, or even “I’m not sure,” then you should refrain from that course of action.